The report of the Ishaka Bawa-led House of
Representatives Adhoc Committee on the
Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) is ready and
is billed for presentation and subsequent
debate after “clearance” by the House
leadership, investigations reveal.
Some of the PIB report recommendations
seen by LEADERSHIP reveals a complete
review of licencing rounds and investment/
contract renewals in the case of Joint
Venture (JV) Licences and Production
Sharing Contracts (PSCs) between
International Oil Companies (IOCs) and the
Nigerian government.
The IOCs demand that the PIB explicitly
recognise contract sanctity for existing JV
Licences and (PSCs). New terms for JV
Licences and PSCs IOCs insist should
apply to only new contracts and licences
in view of the billion dollars up-front
investments made by oil companies in old
contracts with the Nigerian government.
In other recommendations, the
discretionary powers of the president to
allocate oil blocs has been replaced by
competitive bidding, except for Nigerian-
owned oil companies.
Also, the powers of the petroleum minister
in the proposed National Oil Company and
subsidiaries have been considerably
reduced in line with the proposed
commercialisation of state-run oil
company. By this development, interests in
the country’s oil and gas industry –
government and private – have began
intense lobbying ahead of debates of the
report at plenary.
A member of the House Committee on
Petroleum Resources (Upstream) disclosed
to LEADERSHIP that the petroleum ministry
last week took some lawmakers, including
himself, to the United States capital,
Washington DC, as part of lobbying on the
PIB.However, this claim could not be
verified as at the time of press.
For a PIB that has been severally torn
across regional lines in the National
Assembly, the Northern elements are
poised to dictate the direction of the clause
by clause voting on the PIB report. The
North have consistently rejected the 10 per
cent Petroleum Host Communities Fund
contained in the PIB. Southern lawmakers
on the other hand are the most vocal
supporters of the bill, a signal to how they
will vote when the PIB report is debated
on the floor of the House.
The North has a superior numerical
strength over other parts of the country in
the House. The North West, North East and
North Central have a combined
membership of around 191 out of the 360
legislators.
The Speaker of the House, Aminu Waziri
Tambuwal, on September 16, 2014, gave
the Bawa-led Adhoc Committee on the
Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) a 21-day
ultimatum to submit a report. Tambuwal
gave the directive at plenary while
declaring open the fourth legislative
session of the Seventh Assembly.
This is just as a PIB cash-for-passage
allegation filtered round the National
Assembly. It was alleged that the ministry
of petroleum Resources and the state-run,
Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation
(NNPC), was being asked for cash to
ensure the PIB’s passage, an allegation the
House leadership dispelled.



www.leadership.ng/business/384804/intense-lobbying-reps-set-debate-pib-report

Barcanista, lets dissect.

kel4soft: Barcanista, lets dissect.

after how many years?

barcanista: after how many years?

Atleast we will put that to rest.

kel4soft:

Atleast we will put that to rest.

let's wait and see their report sha

barcanista: let's wait and see their report sha

10% to the oil producing communities should not be a contending issue. I hope our Southern lawmakers lobbied their Northern colleagues on that issue. I just hope reasoning will prevail.

kel4soft:

10% to the oil producing communities should not be a contending issue. I hope our Southern lawmakers lobbied their Northern colleagues on that issue. I just hope reasoning will prevail.

where were they all these years?

barcanista: where were they all these years?

I don't think we should blame the lawmakers entirely on the delay.

kel4soft:

I don't think we should blame the lawmakers entirely on the delay.

who else shd share in d blame?

As usual and typical of ur fellow goons, GEJ ought to be blame or don't yu tink so.
.
In a anoda news, Amaechi backbone in Ogoni land has jus defected to the ruling party. Isn't that a great news? jus asking tho.

This bill is probably one of the best example of how the north is dragging Nigeria backward

Barcanista nice read on the PIB

Petroleum Industry Bill:
Issues Delaying Its Passage (1)
Weneso Orogun
— Sep 23, 2014 | 1 Comment
House speaker, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal,
on Tuesday, 16 September 2014 gave the
Hon Ishaka Bawa-led Ad-hoc Committee
on the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) a 21-
day ultimatum to submit a report. Senate
president David Mark also assured
Nigerians last week that the seventh
assembly will pass the bill before it winds
down next year. These assurances provide
the optimist a new straw to hold on to.
The idea of the PIB began in 2007
following the recommendations of a
Presidential Committee set up to carry out
oil and gas sector reforms in the country.
The reforms were expected to form the
nucleus of Nigeria’s aspiration to become
one of the most industrialised nations in
the world by the year 2020.
The promising yet problematic PIB was
first introduced to the National Assembly
in 2009. Since then it has suffered a
number of setbacks. The delays have been
on account of diverse interests scrutinising
its provisions. Amongst these are the
interests of legislators from the country’s
North pitted against those of their Southern
counterparts
The bill is meant to change everything
from fiscal terms to overhauling the
Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation
(NNPC) but its comprehensive nature has
caused years of disputes between federal
lawmakers, oil ministry/presidency and oil
majors.
A LEADERSHIP September 20, 2014
editorial “PIB And National Interest”
captures the contentions and conspiracies
surrounding the PIB.
“Part of the bill’s ‘sin’ is that it attempts to
allow Nigeria and Nigerians play a more
active role in the industry and derive the
best possible benefits from the resource
under their feet. The contentious issues in
the bill include the production sharing
contract (PSC), a private agreement
between one or more IOCs and a national
oil company (NNPC in our case), which
vests a license or general exclusive
authorisation in the NOC, to explore for,
exploit and produce hydrocarbons. PSCs
seek to protect the national economic
interests of host countries in the areas of
technology transfer, training of local
employees and preference for local
suppliers. Host governments take such
national obligations seriously. But the IOCs
are used to taking advantage of their
scientific advancement to the detriment of
their host countries and would want that to
continue by claiming that the bill would
stall investments. PIB says no and that is
its problem.”
The issues in contention
The 10 per cent Petroleum Host
Communities Fund is one of the
contending issues. Another is the alleged
enormous powers granted the petroleum
minister under the bill. A third contentious
issue is the opposition of international oil
companies (IOCs) to the proposed fiscal
regime which they claim is unfavourable to
them.
10 per cent Petroleum Host
Communities Fund
Lawmakers from the northern states have
consistently rejected the 10 per cent
Petroleum Host Communities Fund, a
provision contained in the PIB that was
meant to bring Nigeria’s host community
relations in line with international best
practice. For example, the Economic
Commission for Africa (ECA) provides
some guidance for improving community
participation in the sustainable
development of mineral resources in Africa.
Examples include:
The Papua New Guinea Act of 1992,
which stipulates that a minimum of 20 per
cent of royalties received by the
government, should be paid to land
owning communities of the mining lease
area (In this case royalties are paid directly
by mining companies to the agreed
beneficiaries and then reconciled to central
government for audit).
Special Support Grants (also in Papua
New Guinea) paid to a given provincial
government, which represent about one
per cent of the gross value of mineral
sales of companies operating in the said
province.
Preferred Area Status (also in Papua
New Guinea), which requires companies to
provide preferential treatment in terms of
employment, education and training and
business development assistance to
communities located in the area in which
the company mines.
The holding of mineral rights to
platinum and other resources in the
Merensky Reef in Northwest South Africa
by the baFokeng tribe. The tribe is a
shareholder in the Impala Platinum
Holdings Ltd, which is the second largest
producer of platinum in the western world.
It could be seen from these international
examples for promoting community
participation in extractive industries that
they centre on six pillars: preferential
employment of local labour; contracting of
services and procurement of goods from
indigenous local companies; infrastructure
provision to local communities; allocation
of benefits from mining to local
communities; local community allocation
of national revenue; and community equity
participation.
Southern lawmakers are the most vocal
supporters of the PIB because they see in
it an opportunity for Nigeria to atone for
the many infractions of the land rights of
host communities where extractive
industries are active. Also, the PIB
provides for compliance with sections of
the NEITI Act 2007 which emphasise
management of the nation’s extractive
industry wealth to the benefit of the
people.

Importance of Land
Lawmakers who oppose the PIB for the 10
percent Host Community Fund are
generally oblivious of what the Late
president Umar Yar’Adua attempted to
achieve with his land reform agenda. At a
stakeholders’ forum organised by Federal
Ministry of Environment, Housing and
Urban Development in November 2007,
former chairman, Presidential Technical
Committee on Housing and Urban
Development, the respected Professor Akin
Mabogunje underscored the importance of
land by quoting a famous economic
historian, Karl Polanyi.
Polanyi informs us that land “is an
element of nature inextricably interwoven
with man’s institutions”. According to him,
the economic function is but one of many
vital functions of land. “It invests man’s
life with stability; it is the site of his
habitation; it is a condition of his physical
safety; it is the landscape and the
seasons”. “We might as well imagine him
being born without hands and feet as
carrying on his life without land” Polanyi
posited.
After a wide-ranging survey of the
literature on land, Professor Mabogunje
concluded that land “is a very constitutive
part of the capacity of any society to
organize itself for growth and
development” stressing that a society does
this through its land tenure system which
“establishes the effectiveness and
efficiency of societal transactions in land
and greatly influences the rate of growth
and development of its economy”.
Bundle of Rights in Land
From an economic-legal perspective, land
in Nigeria encompasses four components
over which configurations of land rights
may be exercised: the earth surface, things
located within the soil, everything attached
to the earth surface and all inheritable
subjects of rights existing on land
including right of ownership, right of
possession and right of prescription. This
conception of the nature of land rights has
been popularised by economists working
within the framework of the property rights
paradigm. This line of research, dating
back to the last 60 years, is characterised
by emphasis on certain basic ideas
concerning the interconnectedness of
ownership rights, incentives and economic
behaviour. Indeed, advances in the
economic analysis of the structure of land
rights point to an evolutionary pattern of
land tenure relations in all societies.
The communal system predominates when
the social, economic, political and
demographic realities of the society result
in land having a zero exchange value.
Consequently, a communal land tenure
system is eminently unsuitable for a
society where land has acquired a scarcity
value meaning that the exchange value of
land has become greater than zero. In
such a society; a more exclusive land
tenure arrangement will be more efficient
in guaranteeing access to land, credit and
capital. The land reform measures
proposed under President Yar’Adua’s
seven-point agenda were designed to
avoid the limitations of customary land
tenure systems by creating a market for
secure land titles as a means of
empowering all Nigerians.
Evolution of the Land Law
Up to 1861 when the British entered
Nigeria, customary land tenure systems
were in vogue all over Nigeria including
the northern part of the country. Family
members held land subject to the approval
of family heads, village administrators and
traditional rulers. This was the situation
when in 1913 Britain enacted Foreign
Jurisdiction Act giving the British
Parliament an excuse to exercise
legislative power over Nigeria. This
singular development unleashed a chain of
events culminating in English Common
Law, doctrines of equity and statutes of
general application in force in England on
1st day of January 1900 becoming
applicable in Nigeria. In 1900, the Charter
of the Royal Niger Company (forerunner of
UAC) and the Proclamation of the
Protectorate of Northern Nigeria ceased to
operate. Subsequent agreements between
the High Commissioner and the Royal
Niger Company were made under the Land
Proclamation 1902 which declared all land
in northern Nigeria, native land. Further
powers of the Governor over land came in
1916 with promulgation of the Land and
Native Rights Ordinance. This was the
situation until 1962 when the Northern
House of Assembly enacted the Land
Tenure Law. The Northern region thereafter
followed the Eastern and Western Regions
by enacting a number of property laws
including the Land Registration Law 1963.
Military Intervention and Roots
of Discord
The military made a deliberate effort to
unify land tenure across the country
oblivious of the fact that definition of
property rights in land was proceeding at
various stages in communities across the
country depending on demographic and
economic profiles. Government, therefore,
set up the Land Use Panel in 1977 which
report gave rise to the Land Use Decree
1978 (now Cap 102, Laws of the Federation
of Nigeria 1990). The Act made the
Governor of a state the custodian of all the
land in the state without necessarily
extinguishing the rights of the current
owners. In fact, the Act which was later
inserted in both the 1979 and the 1999
Constitutions of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria, asserts that “all land which was
already developed remained the
possession of the person in whom it was
vested before the Decree became
effective”. The law, however, did not
provide such persons any means to
protect or contest their “possession” if
someone had gone behind them to secure
a Statutory Certificate or Customary Right
of Occupancy from the state or local
government.
Undoubtedly, the Land Use Act has bred a
lot of confusion and introduced numerous
distortions in the management of land
resources in the country. For instance, a
legal scholar at Obafemi Awolowo
University, Ile-Ife, Dr. Ade Idowu, reports
that adoption of the Act has posed a lot of
problems for mining companies including
oil and gas companies who are in a
dilemma over who they should pay rent or
compensation for use of land on which a
mining lease is to be enjoyed or an oil
pipeline is to be constructed. As Idowu
further emphasises, by the language of the
Act and section 44(3) of the 1999
Constitution, the Government of the
Federation of Nigeria exercises exclusive
control over all minerals including oil and
gas found upon or under the land of
Nigeria or within her territorial waters.
This is the root of discord in the Niger
Delta and other parts of the country where
conflicts exist over the utilisation of land
resources. Conflicts between nomadic
pastoralists and sedentary farmers over
fodder resources can also be understood
from this perspective. The 10 per cent
Petroleum Host Communities Fund
proposed in the PIB is thus one small step
towards ensuring sustainable community
participation in the nation’s extractive
industry. It deserves to be applauded and
supported.

stebell: As usual and typical of ur fellow goons, GEJ ought to be blame or don't yu tink so.
.
In a anoda news, Amaechi backbone in Ogoni land has jus defected to the ruling party. Isn't that a great news? jus asking tho.

Greg is not Amaechi's backbone in Khana. Stopped been deceived. He is Prof. Don Baridam camp of your confused umbrella.

tinkinjow: This bill is probably one of the best example of how the north is dragging Nigeria backward

I will say PDP is dragging Nigeria backward. They have majority in both houses. Why can't they use their numerical strength to achieve this if truly the party meant well for us? Why always blaming the North when their National Chairman who is a Northerner and Northern Governors can't prevail on their lawmakers to support the bill?

If they can pay lawmakers from the North to defect and impeach their Governors. What's stopping them from lobbying their lawmakers in doing the needful to the PIB?

PIB was a brain-child of Umaru Musa Yar adua, as part of his programs to bring peace to the Delta. Sadly, "our son" Mr Jonathan and "Our Daughter" Alison Madueke have failed(and still failing) to make it come to fruition. The problem of our people is that our political leaders are nonchalant to our plight. This was how SS Governors danced to Offshore/Onshore dichotomy of which did not benefit our people during OBJokes regime.

The PIB is now taking forever to be passed

I pray it sees d light of d day.coz it was my long essay.and a personal vendetta.

barcanista: who else shd share in d blame?

-i will taketh the blame

IbokUtoroh:





-i will taketh the blame

Akon

kel4soft:

I will say PDP is dragging Nigeria backward. They have majority in both houses. Why can't they use their numerical strength to achieve this if truly the party meant well for us? Why always blaming the North when their National Chairman who is a Northerner and Northern Governors can't prevail on their lawmakers to support the bill?

If they can pay lawmakers from the North to defect and impeach their Governors. What's stopping them from lobbying their lawmakers in doing the needful to the PIB?

bros when it comes to that hallow chambers, thr is nothing like APC or PDP, NOTHENERS speak one language. once they see it wont favour them, they will chant the usual NAY, N d nays' must surely havit.
dont worry i will buy u nomination form for house of reps next week. just begin do consultation.

IbokUtoroh:





bros when it comes to that hallow chambers, thr is nothing like APC or PDP, NOTHENERS speak one language. once they see it wont favour them, they will chant the usual NAY, N d nays' must surely havit.
dont worry i will buy u nomination form for house of reps next week. just begin do consultation.

We should also be in one voice. On your political aspiration. All the best.

kel4soft:

We should also be in one voice. On your political aspiration. All the best.

na we dey mumu na, SS n SE fit speak one voice but SW, Those ones r puppets to the northerners.

In other recommendations, the
discretionary powers of the president to
allocate oil blocs has been replaced by
competitive bidding, except for Nigerian-
owned oil companies.
Also, the powers of the petroleum minister
in the proposed National Oil Company and
subsidiaries have been considerably
reduced in line with the proposed
commercialisation of state-run oil
company. By this development, interests in
the country’s oil and gas industry –
government and private – have began
intense lobbying ahead of debates of the
report at plenary.

The most crucial part of the PIB, in my opinion. Let us see if the powers that be will let this bill pass.

IbokUtoroh:






na we dey mumu na, SS n SE fit speak one voice but SW, Those ones r puppets to the northerners.

No, we the south south and our brothers from the south east must not see the North as our enemy. I think we are showing double standard here. We are happy to see Gov. Aliyu, Lamido and other Northern Governors in PDP endorsed Jonathan for second term, we still use that same lips to accused them of 'born to rule'. Are you not playing with their intellect? When I say, we should speak with one voice, I meant, those things that are upmost important should be lobbied and agreed on instead of having discerning views. The NC was an example

kel4soft:

Greg is not Amaechi's backbone in Khana. Stopped been deceived. He is Prof. Don Baridam camp of your confused umbrella.

Hahaha jus now he is no longer Amaechi man again. I laff in Efik.
Hw about Amaechi saying Lamido n Aliyu betrayed him.

τ̲̅ђe end is near for Rotimi.

stebell:


Hahaha jus now he is no longer Amaechi man again. I laff in Efik.
Hw about Amaechi saying Lamido n Aliyu betrayed him.

τ̲̅ђe end is near for Rotimi.

If someone like Hon. Maclean Uranta defects to your party, it has no significant since they are more a less an errand boy at the grassroot to the big boys.

So you believe that story about Amaechi on Lamido? Then you can believe anything. The story was without a source. BTW, Amaechi end in terms of? Please work well for your faction of PDP and stop interfering to Amaechi's career which even though he leaves office today is a fulfilled man.